Pearl's On Pearl Closing

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By Sade Malloy

Summary

Put a cork in it! Another local restaurant is closing up shop, this time it's a wine bar and bistro hot spot in downtown Ellensburg. Owners say it's not just the economy that hurt business, but their landlord.

Story Published: Feb 22, 2009 at 7:10 PM PST

Ellensburg -- Put a cork in it! Another local restaurant is closing up shop, this time it's a wine bar and bistro hot spot in downtown Ellensburg. Owners say it's not just the economy that hurt business, but their landlord.

After almost eight years in downtown Ellensburg one of the city's most popular restaurants, Pearl's on Pearl, is getting gobbled up by the recession. "The downturn in the economy's been really tough, coupled with the rapidly increasing prices of everything we sell," says, Ron Kohler, Pearl's On Pearl owner.

Even this popular spot is not immune from the economy owners say they started to feel the tight grip last Fall with a more than 20 percent downturn in business. They say the only thing that was increasing back then was their rent, it jumped $450 in just two years time a cost that pushed them over the edge. Gary Cox, customer says, "It's gonna leave a big black hole this block has kinda been bombed out Beirut and this has been the mainstay."

This restaurant is only one week away from closing up for good and locals are worried it's departure will hurt the other downtown businesses. Customers like Ellensburg City Councilmember Stan Bassett. "It's a hard one there's not a lot as a city that we can do," he tells Action News.

When it comes to a restaurant succeeding it always comes down to the bottomline and owners say the numbers just weren't there. Since announcing the closure though the numbers have turned out, but maybe too little too late. Ron Kohler, Pearl's On Pearl owner says, "A lot of people are coming because we're going out of business and they want to see us one last time."

Last minute customers have pushed business up 25 percent from February last year, a bittersweet goodbye to a restaurant some considered a mainstay.